Couldn't be Easier
by Fea-Varcion
Summary: There are so many things that he could do, and so many things that they can't. Yet, it seems like these young adults can't seem to find a job that's worth their while, what's up with that? And it all starts out with the silliest raven of all... AkuRoku, SoRiku, Clack, Cleon, Zemyx, and so on. As always, it's a yaoi, if you don't like it, then look to the next story!
1. Chapter 1

The raven knew that it was never going to be easy. Every day he saw the same competitive stores, the same high prices, the same bargain deals. And every time, he knew that it would never end well. But, what he took into consideration about the whole ordeal was that, it's –self proclaiming– up to him to bring in the most customers and put the rest of the stores out of business. So, the raven knew what was going to happen, and he knew what he decided to put his... Rather helpless life on the line for –if he had a need for his life in the first place, but that doesn't matter– and found his way to the front door of his 2 year long job.

2 years is a lot to work at a place like this, you'd think by now that he'd quit, but no, he's actually a _people-person_. Which is –undeniably– something that you don't get often in the work-fields now a days.

This raven has spunk. He knows how to put up with people and still keep a grin on his face. This raven is an attraction to the people around him, and he somehow manages to draw in more customers –vultures being lied to– to come and look at the objects that they have in stock.

This raven is none other than the boy named Zack Fair, age 24, and the only man who manages to get young scavengers to come and buy products at his job. As the job is well... Working at a cash register –for the rest of his life– in a shopping district, selling clothes.

Zack inwardly sighed, jingling his keys around his finger with a low-tuned whistle. He walked over and dropped his bag next to the open space under the desk. "Welp. As per-usual, I seem to be the only person here _on time_. When _I'm_ the laziest one that even _works_ here." Zack mumbled somewhat unhappily. "Hey, boss! Are you here yet?!" He yelled, tilting his head back to where his boss's room would be located. After a few minutes of impatient waiting, he came to the realization –accepted the fact– that he's the only person that works diligently –to get his pay–.

By 8:12am, a co-worker of his came along. Ventus Strife, age 21, and the middle of the 3 Strife brothers that Zack oh so –loves– adores. Ventus was the only one who worked at the cheap-paying job, while the youngest brother was the only one that stayed in _college_, and the oldest brother did some type of work somewhere else. But, god, did Zack just adore the Strifes like they were his god –or something close to that– because all he wanted to do is just follow the middle brother home and see the other two –undeniably– sexy brothers wander around in some –possibly very fancy– unpredictable home.

Anywho, the blonde with the spunky hair, Ventus, grinned to his co-worker and made his way over to the cash-register. "So... Anyone else come here yet?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. "It looks pretty dead, not like it doesn't always look dead but... Y-yeah... Think you get the point?"

"I'm always the first person here, I don't get it. I really don't. I hate working, I hate being up, and I'm _here_. Bright and early every morning, I haven't been late. I don't know what's wrong with me." Zack said in such a cluster that Ventus almost couldn't understand –he basically didn't but who really cares?– and he just gave Zack a curt nod of silence.

"I... Have no idea what to do about that, yeah? Okay. Cool. We'll just wait here for some workers.."

So, they did. Waiting. Patiently. For someone, anyone to come.

No matter how much Zack wanted to see his co-worker's family, there was little-to-no way that he would be able to do such a thing without being complete buddy-buddy with Ventus.

God was that hard.

_So hard_.

"So... How's your morning going?" Zack questioned, shooting for some casual conversation.

Ventus shot him an 'are-you-freaking-kidding-me?' look and shrugged to the older man, "Pretty basic if you ask me. Cloud woke me up again by dumping cold water on my face. Roxas laughed, blah blah. Same thing over and over, they need a new routine." Ventus shivered as he shook his head. "Or I just need a new family. Do you live by yourself? Do you have family? Are they annoying? They're annoying aren't they? Why is there the neverending struggle of annoying people? This job is getting to me, I'm tired. I want to go home. I can't help myself anymore. I want to sleep. It's 8 fucking 30 in the morning and I'm standing here with my only friend doing nothing. Because people don't look for clothes in the brightest fucking morning of the day on a fucking Monday morning, _noooo_, they never do. They _never_ do!" The blonde felt himself go on a rant, unable to stop himself from the bubbling anger. "I'm going to blow this popsicle stand."

Zack instantly looked out of one of the windows, for the near-by popsicle stand that –apparently– sold the Strife boys' favorite flavor ice cream, as well as Axels' –which happened to be the same thing– but of course Zack doesn't pay attention to those small facts.

_Yeah right. _

Zack pays attention to everything, he just comes off as an oblivious older male that doesn't listen. _Or so they think_.

The next person to come into the shop was none other than Axel Kasai, age 23 and a complete terror to the pair working at the cash-registers. His entry broke Zack and Ventus' train of thoughts, with his bright red hair pulled into a messy ponytail and him standing by the door taking off his shades. He stood at a pose that screamed _fuck-yeah-I'm-awesome-bow-to-me_, but the pair just stared. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to do much else with the cocky man. At 8:35am, the red-head found himself an hour late to work. Though, their boss hasn't even done as much as make a call for being out, or anything of the sort, Axel's never charged for latenesses. _Sadly_.

Zack's eyebrow raised at the red-headed annoyance and rolled his eyes –unknowingly– as the male made his way and tossed his unneeded bag behind the cash register desk. "Did you see Riku on your way here? Or am I going to have to suffer with you today?"

"Riku's stopping by somewhere to get a drink. I think we should sell food, we'd get more business." Axel replied, shrugging as he browsed –with the intention of probably buying something later– through all the clothes in-front of him. "Whaddaya' think? We could definitely get more business in the mornings so it won't be so empty and shit."

"No way." Zack shook his head, "I'm the only person who gets here on time, or did you forget? The breakfast rush starts at like, 7, which happens to be the time where _I'm_ coming in to get ready for work, then wait hours for you guys to show up to actually do your _jobs_."

"Oh! Idea!" Ventus piped up to say his first thing since Axel walked in, "This place should be... More than just one thing, don't-cha-think?"

Zack felt like the two were working together, everyday, to just somehow annoy him. He was never so testy, –he's rather easygoing– grins are always seen on the boy's face, but for the past 2 years, he's been getting angrier and angrier with the people that he works with. Then again, the only person that gives him any type of mental problem is Axel, anyways. And well, their boss that honestly shouldn't be a boss. Some dude named Wakka, who managed to have the money to somehow _make_ a store of his own to sell clothes. But honestly Zack knew that this was a stupid job, that still had such a god damn good pay, when he realized that Wakka only wanted to make the store for swimwear. As if the people here only goes for swimming. Sure, he'd like to go swimming every now and then, but they don't live where he used to live, so it's different. Completely different. People want actual clothes, regular clothes, Winter, Summer, Spring, Fall clothes. Not... Swimming, what type of clothes would people sanely come and buy swimming clothes for?

Yet somehow, for the past 2 years, Zack stayed, working for Wakka, who only gave Axel free discounts and listened to him when he wanted to complain. In the unfair environment that was plastered into the ground the moment he walks into the clothing store every morning, just to get paid at the end of the week. Every week.

And yet, somehow, for the past 2 years, Zack's kept his pent-up frustration, not wanting to quit.

Today though, today's going to be much different from those past 2 years. Things are changing, and Zack's not going to deal with it anymore.

"I'm leaving." Zack stated, clearly not wanting to be in the clothing store anymore.

"Waddaya' mean?" Axel asked, looking up from his browsing that he started 20 minutes ago.

"I mean, I'm quitting. I'm finding another job."

"Can I come with?" Ventus questioned, "I'm only here for the easy cash." Zack shrugged, looking at the middle Strife. "We should work at a restaurant though, with your good looks, Zack, customers would come crawling to the doors."

"It's because of me that we seem to get service in this damn place too." Zack frowned and picked up his bookbag. "We can look around for some place to start workin' at, of course. It's almost 9am, and I officially have no job." Zack proclaimed, walking to the door, leaving the key to the store on the counter for his boss –Wakka– to come and pick up when he decides that he wants to get to his job. "You comin' with, Axel?" Zack questioned, half-hoping that the red-head's annoying attitude will subside for them to actually get some work done.

"I want to work at Dunkin Donuts." Axel insisted, catching the bag that Ventus tossed to him and made his way to the front door with his co-workers. "Or I mean like, something stupid like Taco Bell or something."

"Fast food joints aren't my thing." Zack shook his head, "I'd rather put my looks to _good_ use." He pointed out, shutting the door behind the three of them and giving one last look to the job that he finally decided to give up, after 2 years of wasting his life.

2. Fucking. Years.

2 years wasted out of his life.

Then finally, after 2 fucking years, he decided to give up his useless job to search for something that most likely pays less, but it gets better customer service then what he had to deal with before.

"You should be a singer, or a model. Zackary." Ventus piped, a cheerful grin plastered on his face in an attempt to make Zack feel better.

"Singing... Nah, I'm not one for singing... Modeling is just disgusting, and didn't I tell you not to call me Zackary? No one calls me Zackary..." Zack sighed at the –rather unused– name given to him. "What about an amusement park? Or... A G-karting place? Or...–"

"You could actually go to college and learn something, then look for some type of part-time job at a grocery store or some shit."

"Coffee house?" Zack was still offering, ignoring the new voice that came in. Though, he did acknowledge the fact that Riku found his way over to the trio who stood like lost puppies in front of their old job building. "Nah, Coffee house is too cliché for good-looking people such as ourselves. Hey Riku. What about we do something like turn into secret service agents or something cool?!"

"Yeah... Secret Service Agents– Oh hey Riku!" Ventus only just now waved to his silver-haired friend who was holding an iced latte and a small bag filled with unknown goodies. "What's up? Do you have an idea of where we're going to go and work next?"

"Honestly, Coffee houses do seem very cliché but... They get paid, I gotta admit. Or.. Well. We can work at Dunkin Donuts, but that requires a uniform, I don't like... Uniforms.–"

"Why does it have to be a Coffee house? Why can't we work at a bakery?" Ventus questioned, earning an agreeing nod from Axel.

"Do you know how to cook sweets?" Zack questioned rather quickly, earning a nod and an agreeing finger from Riku.

"Bakeries make money too..." Axel tried to defend the good idea.

"Oh! Another idea!" Ventus grinned once more, "A bar! _The Seventh Heaven bar_! A family friend is the boss there, so we're sure to get some jobs that way!"

Zack gave a skeptical look but, if it's a friend of the Strife's, they're a friend of his.

And so, just an hour or so later, the group found themselves looking at the –eventually– new job in front of them, waiting inside _The Seventh Heaven bar_.

* * *

><p>"<em>You've said enough for both of us,<em>

_So don't try to deny it, _

_And some things are better left unsaid,_

_But I can't keep this quiet.~_

_Well I'm not one to hold a grudge_

_And hide it from the surface, _

'_Cause every single thing I've ever held against you has a purpose!_

_You're good at starting problems for the hell of it, _

_But our difference is that I don't use my past to make me feel relevant!" _Zack sung along to the song playing that only he could hear. His earbuds plugged into his ears, and he felt himself headbanging to one of his favorite genres of music. Though it was like those generic Emo-kid songs when they can't find their way, he couldn't give two shits. It was catchy, and hell, music made him feel so alive.

It was now, a year later, that Zack Fair, now at the age of 25, sat on the stool in front of the bar's front desk. The cosy shack, or... Bar, as people insist to call it, gained 4 new workers just 1 mere year ago. As well as a now happy boss, that shockingly, Zack was familiar with. Tifa, just about 24 years of age now, and an old schoolmate with Zack and Aerith. Though she was more Aerith's friend, Tifa definitely did know how to take care of herself. But he was sure eventually, this place would become flooded, and she wouldn't be able to take care of it as well as she can anything else. So, he was glad when Ventus offered for them to work there to help her out, and he was sure as hell ecstatic to see an old friend again.

Tifa, on the other hand, after having to deal with Zack's random singing for a year, while the shop opened early in the mornings, –6:30am because of early morning joggers, late-nighters, or College students that have really early classes and need to finish work before getting to their classes– she was unsure if she was still sane, listening to him every single day. Singing something different. It has yet to be the same song, and if it was, she definitely didn't notice.

"Hey, Zack." Tifa called for her old raven-haired friend. The raven paused his music and pulled out his earphones to listen to his boss, "So, _The Seventh Heaven Bar_ has to be renovated, like... We're going to have to make the building bigger, and... Even though we have the money I... Don't know how we should expand it? Should there be a second floor? A bottom floor? Or... Like... Something just to spread it from side to side? That type of thing.."

Zack thought for a moment, before looking up to the ceiling, "You should probably ask everyone else who works here first, but, I'd go for a second floor. You should make like, 7 floors, elevators, and at each floor something different was sold? That type of thing?"

"Um... What type of things would I sell that would be different on each floor?"

"Like, the top floor should be for the bar, like, y'know _The Seventh Heaven Bar_ type thing. The 6th floor should be... Either a resting place, or a food place. OH! Fancy restaurant is the 6th floor, okay?! 5th floor has to be a sweets shop, because you know, drunk people should eat sweets, definitely."

"Uh... Liquor and sweets do _not_ work well together..." Tifa pointed out.

"Hush and let me speak woman!" Zack shooshed his boss and went back to thinking, "So the 5th floor has to be sweets. The 4th floor should be... Aerith's flower shop. 3rd floor can be spent looking at clothes, the 2nd floor should be the morning coffee shop. And the bar should be the night time bar, y'know?"

"So what about the first floor?"

"This 'ol place right here? The elevator floor, we're gonna have loads of business, so we need elevators all on the sides! So that people can get to their designated floor. Like.. 1 elevator for each floor, and not just having like 2 different elevators that go up to each floor, and blah, y'know?" Zack continued to spew his idea out to his long-term friend.

"I... Think I'm going to need more money if we go through with this.."

"Gotcha!" Zack chuckled, patting his friend and giving her a thumbs up as she walked away. "We're gonna need a lot of workers, like 2 or 3 for each floor! So look for hiring people!"

"Yeah, yeah.."

* * *

><p>Now, with Zack's idea, –from not too long ago– Tifa put <em>The Seventh Heaven Bar<em> into renovations, and booked out a second building for the workers to... well.. _Work_ and continue making money so that their new building can be completed. It'll take a few months, with all the different things that Zack mentioned to place in the bar, but none of the other workers seemed to have minded. And the plan was thus put into action. They were currently working in a small building that worked half as a morning shop for a quick meal and a drink, and at night the same old classic bar that Tifa loved so much. It wasn't too far a walk from the original _Seventh Heaven Bar_ location, since it's just about 5 or so minutes extra to walk down the road, it was still very noticeable, and in the matter of hours, the building flooded with people.

Tifa grinned at all of the people putting her four trusty workers to work. Though she knew that she would need a hell of a lot more help then just this, her first call was going to go to Aerith. Then... An old friend of hers.

Ventus casually took an order from one of the women staring at him with a sheepish smile. She didn't seem to know what she wanted to drink, –or eat for that matter– and Ventus decided to ease her struggle by offering her one of their finest beverages that she seemed to agree with. Soon after, she seemed to struggle with a type of food that she wanted to eat, and Ventus eventually offered up a meal that he thought would suit her nicely. With her agreement, –and payment– he smiled and told her her order would be ready in just a bit, sending her to one of the open seats to wait, and a waiter would be right out with her order.

Zack and Ventus worked the kitchen and the cash register, sometimes, –since there are two cash registers– Axel would assist Ventus if one order takes too long and so forth. Riku would work in the back until enough orders are done, so that he can go and make a round or two, serving the patient customers.

This is how the service went for a good week or so, until Tifa decided to bring in extra help, some new friends and people who applied for a job –which they shouldn't be placed to work until the _Seventh Heaven Bar_ is back up and running, but Tifa figured the 4 boys needed help– and eventually introduced the helpers.

Kairi Kasai, age 19. The youngest of the Kasai family, and Axel's little sister. Namine Mujaki, age 19, and the younger sister of the third worker, Xion Mujaki, age 19, but fraternal twins. Despite the feminine looks of Xion, she was... indeed a boy. Though, Kairi was the oldest out if the three, there was no doubt that Xion was the most mature.

Tifa informed the boys that these three would be working every other day, and only in the mornings and early afternoons, since their classes start in the evenings for now. Once the original building opens back up, they'll be working full-time on the 3rd floor –The Clothing floor– and they'll be staying to themselves and keeping the clothes up to par with what people of all ages look and shop at reasonable prices.

But for now, these three are going to be working as the waiter/waitresses while the four boys do what they have to do in the kitchen, and at the register.

"Thanks for all the extra you've been searching for, Tifa." Zack thanked his dear friend with a huge grin. "We should be pretty damn good until the building is back in order."

"Yeah... And I'm hoping to get another friend to help us once it's up." Tifa mumbled, pulling up a chair to sit next to the cash-register occupied by Zack. "You'd love it, really."

"Who are you trying to get? Aerith? I thought she said yes by now."

"Aerith? Oh, she's not who I'm talking about. Aerith agreed before I can even finish saying what I needed to say. The only problem is her getting to and from here."

"I can drive her, no biggie." Zack waved his hand all kinds of directions, brushing off the mild problem Aerith seems to always have, transportation. "I go to visit her sometimes still anyways, it'd be nice to be able to work with her again."

"Yeppers!" Tifa grinned, "But that's still not who I want here."

"Who do you want here?"

"You're not allowed to know!" Tifa chuckled to herself, causing Ventus to awkwardly chuckle at the cash register just a foot away. Zack raised an eyebrow, honestly curious of what she was talking about, but he figured he wasn't going to get a proper answer for a while, so he should just drop it.

"Okay, Tif. Thanks for that curiosity bump." Zack eventually mumbled, earning a happy nod from his friend.

Tifa casually nodded and stood, looking at the building that was going to come into use for the next few months. _Oh! I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!_

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not gonna make this story a really long one, just to let you know from the start. It's supposed to be one of my <em>many<em> short and sweet fanfictions, just to be able to get writing ideas out. I have my main story that I want to focus on, but for right now, I just wanna write other stories, for people that have different tastes from my regular Dynasty Warriors stuff. And so, here I am.**

**Also, yeah, I did make Xion a boy for this, since my first impression of Xion was a _guy_ anyways. I'd prefer her as a guy to be honest with you, people might challenge me with that, but if you don't like it... I'm not gonna force you to read it, you don't have to. So! Here I am, and here you are, the people faithful enough to want to keep reading. This story should update pretty quickly, and I should be done the whole thing before February –It's gonna be a really short story****– or something of that sort. I just needed to get the Kingdom Hearts stories rolling again. I'm pretty sure I have two ****–or three****– other stories that needs updating. I'll get on those eventually. **

**Until next time, everyone! Happy reading, and a Merry Christmas to you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Crazy blonde spikes rose from the comforting bed. Unsure of what to do after forcefully being woken up by his loud and alarming phone, the youngest of the Strife family decided to let his phone ring just a bit longer.

_Whoever it is, if they really need me, they'll call back a second time..._

He convinced himself, pushing one of the side buttons to let his phone silently ring, while he tried to go back to sleep. A mere minute later, the phone started up again, feeling louder than it did before, and the blonde groaned all the same.

"CLOUD! COME ANSWER MY PHONE!" The youngest of the brothers called for the oldest, hoping to get the quiet young adult to cooperate with him. "C'MON, PLEASE!" He yelled a bit louder, knowing that eventually, Cloud would wander into his room to do so.

Which, he did, after a few seconds of shuffling around in the hall, trying to figure out if it was Ventus or Roxas wanting his attention for the moment. The moment he went over to Roxas' room, the phone had stopped ringing, but the older brother just stood and stared at Roxas with a small grin. "What's up, Rox?"

"Someone was calling me again, go answer it next time." Roxas mumbled, hiding his face in his pillow and looking away from where his older brother stood.

Cloud rolled his eyes and turned around, softly closing the door behind him as the middle brother, Ventus, came out of his room to greet the brother rather ecstatically.

"Hey!" Ventus greeted, "I'm about to head off to work, you sure you don't wanna see Tifa?"

"I'll... Visit Tifa some other day, it's okay, really, Ventus." Cloud shook his head with a small chuckle. "Really, I will." He added when Ventus gave him a doubtful look.

"Tifa really misses you, and I know she wants you to start working again, but you gotta stay by her side and help her out too. I think it'll be nice to see some old friends hanging out with each other all the time again. It's like how Tifa was so happy to see Zack again–"

"Wait, Zack? Black hair," Ventus nodded, "blue eyes?" Another nod, "looks like a puppy?" Ventus nodded again.

"That's a... Weird way to put it but yeah... I guess you could say that he looks a bit like a puppy, why?"

Cloud shook his head and dug in his pockets for his phone, ready to call up an old friend.

* * *

><p>It's been a few weeks since Cloud decided to call Tifa, and she's been filled with grins and joy, knowing that he would eventually join knowing that his old flame was still around, and working alongside her. He wanted to work alongside the male once more, but something was forcing him to stay back, and of course, Cloud never knew what. So Tifa convinced him to come one morning, one early morning, to come and see the old flame that he had, just for old times sake.<p>

So that's what Cloud did, standing outside the secondary building, waiting for The Seventh Heaven Bar to be completely renovated, right down the road.

_It's not too late to turn around. I can still leave._

Cloud shook his head. Surely he looked like an idiot in the middle of the sidewalk trying to contemplate going into a rather popular shop.

"_**Carry on**_

_**Every one of us every soul inside is bleeding**_

_**Finally the broken silence begins to slip away**_

_**Every pain every tear every breath I take**_

_**Stolen by the darkness but I'm hanging on**_

_**For a morning that will never dawn~**_"

Cloud heard the familiar voice singing, unsure of what to do, he turned to run away, but ran straight into his old friend, Tifa.

"Hey Cloud!" Tifa grinned, dusting off the invisible dirt that may have appeared on Cloud from the collision that she seemed to not be affected from.

"T-Tifa, you–!"

"Tif–" There was a momentary pause, "CLOUD?" Zack practically screamed out of his lungs, "What are you doing here?!" Zack yelled, grabbing onto the blonde's shoulders, "You shouldn't be here! Go home!"

Cloud gave the raven a blank stare, then after a few seconds, it was washed over with complete confusion.

_Why in the world was he trying to send me away?_

* * *

><p>"So why exactly is he here?" Zack found himself asking his female friend. It wasn't that he didn't want Cloud to be in the same area as him –again–, it was just that it's been so long since the last time they've actually been around each other, and it seemed so strange to have the oldest of the Strife brothers beside him again.<p>

Cloud turned his attention to the female in front of him, then over to the raven beside him. "I told her that I wanted to come and visit. I didn't think that it'd bother you much.. And besides... I didn't even know that you were the one that started working under Tifa. I thought it'd just be Aerith and uh.. Terra or someone else." Cloud pointed out, half-lying. Of course he knew Zack was there, and that was the main reason why he wanted to come and visit, but he would have never guessed that Zack would decide to work under Tifa, despite the old friendship that broke so many years ago.

"Oh... Really." Zack nodded slowly, letting his eyes wander to the floor somewhat shamefully. He was never sure of Cloud's actions, and he still had yet to catch on to half of the things the blonde boy has ever told him. "Well... It's nice to see you here though... Wouldn't you agree?.."

Cloud gave an awkward nod and a small smile to his old friend.

"Well! Isn't that good, at least you two aren't arguing or anything with each other. That lets me know that you two got over a lot of problems or whatever you guys went through before, and you're both ready to work with each other!" Tifa chuckled, pulling the pair into a bear hug before running off into the kitchen, leaving the pair of young adults to converse amongst each other.

"So..." Cloud mumbled after a moment of silence, "What...Were you singing earlier? It sounded pretty interesting."

"Oh it was uh..." Zack leaned back in his chair in thought of what he was listening to earlier. "Hmm... What exactly was I singing?" He rubbed his chin in thought, "I think..–Oh! It was _5150 by Nano._ It's really interesting of a song. You might actually like it."

"Oh.. I see. I'll uh, I'll look into that sometime later on today." Cloud nodded, looking down to the ground, "So, um.. Ventus works here, right? Where is he?" He questioned after another awkward moment.

Zack could feel his leg begin to bounce up and down in either anxiousness or anxiety, but whatever it was, was definitely kicking his ass. "Ventus? Ventus... Ventus is ups–..." Zack shook his head and sighed heavily to give himself a moment to think and calm down a tad, "Ventus is in the kitchen with Riku and Axel. They're preparing for the lunch rush.. You know, it's really harsh at that time and all–"

"Yeah I.. I remember." Cloud whispered rather quietly. He was just as disturbed as Zack was, though he didn't show it the same way, the raven's constant leg bouncing seemed to have rubbed off on the blonde himself. Since he wasn't completely sure of how to react, Cloud gave an awkward laugh and shook his head, "H-hey, Zack?"

"Hmm?"

His leg started to bounce even more.

"How's everything going?"

"It's good."

The table that they were sitting at began to shake.

"Oh.. That's good."

"Yeah.."

It felt like either Zack's chair was moving, or the table had begun to shake, but now both of Zacks legs began to shake simultaneously.

"Ah..."

_God someone save this.._

"Hey, Zack, you mind helping Riku and Ventus in the back?" Axel –Zack's new savior of the day– came and patted the raven on the back. "My hands are starting to hurt, and I'm supposed to take the shift at the register today. So.."

"Y-yeah man, I'll take the job." Zack quickly stood and stretched his –somehow aching– bones and waved to Cloud as quickly as possible so that he could get out of there without any other problems.

"I'll see ya in a bit then." Cloud mumbled, waving to the raven as he nodded and ran off. "Man..." Cloud whispered to himself as he looked off to the opposite direction.

"That.. Was painful to watch. You two are horrible to each other." Axel commented, fixing the table the pair were sitting at, and sitting in the seat Zack had not too long ago stood from. "Someone needed to be saved from that, and since you don't work here yet... I decided to get Zack out of that. Ventus told me to call you over, but the three of us all knew how bad that was going to be. Damn..."

Cloud sighed and laid his face onto the table, "It's been horribly awkward between us for ages now. I came to see him, to be honest with you..." He slowly let his eyes close. "Though.. We didn't really end on a good point.."

"What happened, exactly?" Axel raised a curious eyebrow, "Or is that something that I can't really find out about?"

"I'd... Prefer not to tell you, you know? It's... It's just something that happened between him, Tifa, Aerith, and I... And a few others but.. Well.. It's not really secretive but it's just really awkward. I don't know why Tifa would leave us alone like that."

"Do you like Zack?"

Cloud quickly lifted his head to stare at the redhead in front of him, wide-eyed and too startled to answer the question properly. "W-what..?"

"Do you like him?" Axel asked again.

"I-I..."

"It's obvious that someone likes someone between the two of you, and the other doesn't want to admit something, so... Do you like Zack, Cloud? Or does Zack like you? Did he confess to you and you turned it down? Or did you confess to him and he turned you down?" The redhead continued to ask, leaning in with every new question he could think of.

"I.. We.."

"You two dated and one of you thought that it wasn't good so you broke up?"

"No–! It... It's not like that.."

"So what happened?"

"We were just really close friends that did some stupid things... That's all."

"Did you jack each other off?"

Cloud sighed at the persistent redhead in front of him and nodded slowly, "It was something along those lines."

"Oh, if you both know that you're gay, there's nothing wrong with it." Axel shrugged and stood, stretching like a cat, "Besides, we're all adults here. You're old enough to talk over the problems that you two had with each other, right? It's nothing too hard with just sitting down and talking t–..." He paused and looked over to the kitchen, then back to the blonde. "Well... With you two... Talking to each other is like asking someone to shoot you. And it's really painful to watch." He shrugged again, "And– hey, do you have another sibling or something? I really like Ventus but... He's way too giddy for me. I wouldn't be able to want to date him with him going all 'teehee!' every time we talk."

Cloud felt his eye twitch without hesitation, "Roxas is the youngest out of us, but he goes to college. That one that's nearby. Roxas is like... The polar opposite of Ventus, but he's not really one for relationships? I guess..?"

"Sounds like Roxas is gonna be another Kasai family member." Axel grinned to the oldest Strife and gave him a subtle wink. "I gotta start getting the cash register ready, I'll talk to you in a bit man."

Cloud watched as the redhead walked away, and looked down to the table, somewhat upset. What the redhead had said was very true, but the blonde didn't know how to go about any of the actions. He'd honestly love to go and talk to Zack randomly, but after the little game of 21 questions that Axel decided to play, he began to think less of his actions. _No... I'll do it. I'll admit everything all at once, so that Zack doesn't have to worry about me anymore._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Cloud? How much longer are you staying? I could use some help cleaning up the tables and all, while the rest of the boys are cleaning the kitchen." Tifa asked, holding two rags and throwing one into a bucket of water. "Wanna help?" Cloud gave a small nod and reached for the rag in Tifas hand. "Thanks Blondie~."<p>

"No problem..." Cloud felt himself helplessly mumble. "How big is the kitchen that you need 4 people to clean it, anyways?"

"It's uh... not very big at all. Pretty small to be honest. But Riku and Axel are kinda lazy, so Zack and Ventus cleans up after they clean up."

"That's a shocker. Ventus is really lazy... To be lazier than him..."

"Yeah, right? That's what I said. Both Ventus and Zack are lazy as all hell and they still do more than the other boys." Tifa chuckled as she picked up and rinsed out the rag from the bucket before wiping a the table next to her. "Boys will be boys though, after all. You can't force them to do what they don't want to do. Unless it's really needed. You know?"

Cloud nodded without a second thought as to what she could have been saying. Half of his mind was stuck on the fact that he was helping her out for free and it felt like he was letting so much stress go while he was wiping each table with his life long friend from Nibelheim. "Yeah, definitely. Definitely." He found himself agreeing with the girl.

* * *

><p>"So? You gonna clear things up with him or not?" Riku asked Zack as he stuck his hand in the oven to check how clean it was. Sure it wasn't the traditional way, but that's how he's been getting the job done.<p>

"No. Or... at least not now. I need more time to figure out what I really want to say to him. You know... I just– It's Cloud and–"

"Cloud is reasonable. Cloud is mature, and you're in love with Cloud." Axel pointed out, washing off forks and spoons before putting them on the dish-rack. "Cloud really likes you too, so lets end this stupid... Whatever... You two got going on, and get things done, why don't 'cha?"

"I'm going to beat you." Zack grumbled, glaring at the redhead as he threw the sponge into the sink and looked at all the machinery to make sure it was all clean. "I'd love to talk to him, but like I said, I really want to figure out exactly what I want to say to him before I make myself look like a fool."

"You already are a fool!" Ventus laughed out, leaning on the counter conveniently placed next to him. "Besides, do you really think Cloud would care? He loves you way too much and all. It's crazy." He pointed out to the raven.

"He loves me... that much?" Zack felt his face flush a bit too much, and he turned to pull his hair back into a messy ponytail. With his hair the same length as Axel's, they tend to have similar hair styles, but they both normally planned to never have them on the same day.

Today was an exception. Their hair both in messy ponytails and that single strand of hair that neglects even being pulled back into a hair tie of sorts.

"You sure as hell got that right. Anyone can see it, you're not that blind you know." Riku agreed, sighing and picking up his phone from off the counter next to the dirty bucket. "Look, I know your struggles or whatever, but get this job done. Honestly." He shook his head and walked out of the kitchen without another word.

Oh, have we ever introduced Riku properly? I don't believe we have. So we'll do it now, the familiar silverette with the somewhat quick tongue's name is –well, you guessed it– Riku Nagato, age 21. Or as he loves to say, he's _forever 21_, and ever so clever this man is. Riku's a subtle hardworker, to be honest. He's the three C's to the extreme –calm, cool, and collective–, and tries his hardest not to let things get too over the top for him. Riku also grew his hair to a comfortable length –it's getting to around mid-back– and his eyes are a wonderful aquamarine green set of orbs that makes you feel like you'll get lost just looking at them. Similar to Axels' bright jade green eyes.

Anyways, Axel looked over to one of his best friends strange reactions and shrugged as well. "Yeah just uh... get it done. No one is gonna hate you, puppy." He nodded to the pair before grabbing his phone and keys and running out to keep up with Riku.

Ventus stared at Zack questionably, "Should I invite you over to the house? Cloud has the biggest room, and you can take that time to talk to each other properly. Whaddaya say?"

"No it's... too early for that. Give it some time. I need time." Zack gave an awkward laugh and reached over to pat Ventus on his shoulder. "You leave with Cloud first. I'll stay back with Tifa so that I can talk to her for a bit."

Ventus nodded and pushed Zacks hand off of him politely. "Just don't fuck up. We're all rooting for you, man."

* * *

><p>After that, Zack hadn't been able to talk to Cloud again. He couldn't remember where the blonde family lived, or the oldest blonde's number. He was in a complete standstill and it bothered him that he hadn't accepted Ventus ' request to sleep over so that he could do all of that.<p>

However, our new focus is on a pair of teens, one that's already rather familiar in the story, and another, the best friend of this familiar Strife.

Roxas Strife, age 19, and an honest boy. He's the youngest out of the Strife brothers and he's the most real out of the three. He's not hyperactive, like Ventus, and he's definitely not a brooding person, like Cloud. Roxas is a short tempered boy with an arrogant attitude, and little patience but very intelligent. Although, the blonde does have a generous side, as he is sweet to his friends and his siblings, there's still the chance that he doesn't put them before his own actions.

As for his friend, Sora Aeur, also at age 19, he's the lesser of the pair, not quite as smart, he still manages with the blondes' help. He's the kinder of the two, and isn't as easy to irritate, though they both contain rather rash attitudes to people that come off rude. The only difference is that Sora has a kind heart, and he's willing to forgive a lot easier than Roxas is. Which makes people approach Sora before they'd think of approaching Roxas, it becomes a slow and steady process.

"Hey, Roxas, can I come over tonight? My mom and dad are being really weird and all... I don't know if they're going to break up or not but... You know.. Either way, I'd love to see them both happy." Sora awkwardly chuckled, shifting his bookbag on his back and turning to his friend who had just finished putting his books into his messenger bag and searched another compartment for his keys.

"Huh?" Roxas lifted his head to look at his best friend, "You want to what now?" He asked, taking out the car keys and holding them tightly in his hand as he fixed himself up to go outside.

"Can I spend the night?" Sora shortened his earlier question, hoping that his friend would be reasonable, knowing that he's the only one that knows his family problems.

"Oh. Is Vanitas being an ass again?" Roxas questioned, turning on his heels to go outside, Sora in tow.

"N-no, not this time.. Vanitas is off doing his druggie deals and all that..."

"Vanitas is going to get someone killed." Roxas grumbled.

Sora gave an awkward chuckle and shook his head, "It's not that bad, I promise. Vanitas will get better once he finds something that he wants to do with his life–"

"He's not going to find anything better to do with his life. I'm sorry but, I can just tell that that dude's going to be a complete failure–"

"Don't talk about him that way!" Sora frowned, defending his foolish older brother. "Look.. Can I just come over or not?"

"Sure, I don't really care." Roxas pointed out, not noticing his friend's somewhat angry tone as they walked outside and to Roxas' somewhat old Audi –technically it's Cloud's that was a hand-me-down from their parents– and unlocked the doors, hopping into the front seat and tossing his bag in the back. "C'mon, Sora."

Sora nodded and followed Roxas' lead, then leaning back in the passenger seat with a heavy sigh, "Lets just not talk about Vani or my parents or anything, okay? Just normal conversation would work right now."

Roxas chuckled and nodded, putting the key in the ignition and setting the car in reverse, "Yeah, yeah. Sure." He mumbled, looking at the rear-view mirror and placing his free hand on the head of Sora's seat so that he could back the car up properly. "Since this is Cloud's car, he checks every day to make sure that I take care of it. Even though he has that stupid motorcycle that Zack gave him." He groaned, putting the car in drive and turning the wheel so that they could now leave the parking lot. "Sometimes I can't with that guy, y'know? Cloud's just kinda weird sometimes. He does things that bothers me."

"Like what?"

"If you're in love with someone..." Roxas started, glancing over to his brown haired friend for a moment before checking the crossroads to see if the road was clear. "...If you love someone, you should tell them, right? Not fuck them up like how he did."

"What did he do, exactly?"

"What did he–.. Ugh, are you serious?" The blonde groaned, putting the car in second gear, "He went out with your Aunt-Uncle-Cousin-Brother-Sister thing.–"

"My cousin." Sora interrupted.

"Whatever, anyways.. It was the day that Zack confessed to him. But he asked Lion–"

"Leon."

"–...Or – whatever the fuck he wants to name himself, out right across the room, the same room Zack was in. Zack was fucking heart broken. It was the stupidest thing that Cloud could have done, because he felt like he liked Lion–"

"Leon.."

"–Instead." Roxas attempted to finish, sending a quick glare Sora's way before letting out an annoyed noise. "Who does bull shit like that anyways? Lion isn't–"

"_Leooonn._"

"– even a cool person. He looks like a dork, and he's not cool enough for my older brother. No offence to you, of course. Sora." Roxas shrugged off the correction and pulled to a stop at the stop light.

"But, Roxas, it's not like Leon had it all jolly and dandy himself. He was really torn too, after he and Cloud finished whatever it was that Cloud wanted to do. If you want to put the blame on anyone, shouldn't it be on Cloud? He's kinda the one that caused all of this." Sora pointed out, frowning as he caught Roxas' glare his way. "Honestly, Cloud went and called out Leon, 'wanting' to date him..." Sora added emphasis with air quotes, "But that's probably because Cloud wasn't ready to face Zack, wouldn't you think?"

"No. Well... I wouldn't really say that Cloud's the one that's at fault here.–"

"He is! He obviously is! You don't even like how he acted with this situation anyways! You said it yourself!" Sora felt like jumping in his seat, though he wasn't sure if it was in anger or not, but he really felt the need to get out of this car.

"Sora, damn it. I know what I said." Roxas growled, pulling over in front of his house and setting his bright blue orbs on to Sora's face. "We're here." He whispered after taking a deep breath. It wasn't his best intention to try and piss off his best friend.

"Oh." Sora looked around and grabbed his bookbag out of the back seat before quickly undoing his seatbelt and jumping out of the car without a second thought. Roxas sighed and followed after the brunette, leading him into the familiar smelling Strife home.

"Hey, Cloud, Ventus?" Roxas called, hoping for some sort of answer.

"Hey Roxas–" Cloud replied after a moment, shuffling through something up the steps, "can you bring me the broom, please? Oh– and a wet rag?" He called.

Roxas sighed and handed his bag to Sora, pointing to the couch with a reassuring smile, "Sora's here!" He yelled as he went to go do what he was told.

"Oh! H-hey Sora!"

"Hey Cloud!" Sora chuckled out a greeting, knowing how awkward it must be for the older boy. Yet for some reason, he wished that Cloud never tried to date Leon, and left his life out of the other blonde's. He knew that things were going to change, but it was best that even the closest of his friends would not be able to find out the things he's been thinking.


End file.
